“There is some wisdom in taking a gloomy view, in looking upon the world as a kind of Hell, and in confining one’s efforts to securing a little room that shall not be exposed to the fire.”
Something very important is missing here: Despite or because of the "will" according to Schopenhauer the highest form of existence a human can reach is "Mitleid". Which means much more than today's compassion or the ugly technocratic term "empathy". Mit=with. Leid=suffering.
Very interesting that Schopenhauer suggests will is the basis of both life and non-life. I thought surely there would be a distinction between the physicality of the material and the 'spiritual' state of life. Yes the magnet points north, but there is a complete lack of will in that movement, it is entropic in nature. Only life can oppose entropy, we may feel 'pulled' to the north pole - so to say - but we have the will to turn away. That is what differentiates life from non-life, or maybe I have not though deeply enough about this.
The wisdom of pessimism is that it makes optimism, real. One without the other, is meaningless.
Something very important is missing here: Despite or because of the "will" according to Schopenhauer the highest form of existence a human can reach is "Mitleid". Which means much more than today's compassion or the ugly technocratic term "empathy". Mit=with. Leid=suffering.
Very interesting that Schopenhauer suggests will is the basis of both life and non-life. I thought surely there would be a distinction between the physicality of the material and the 'spiritual' state of life. Yes the magnet points north, but there is a complete lack of will in that movement, it is entropic in nature. Only life can oppose entropy, we may feel 'pulled' to the north pole - so to say - but we have the will to turn away. That is what differentiates life from non-life, or maybe I have not though deeply enough about this.